REI Winter Gear Clinics

I recently attended a couple of clinics about snowshoeing and cross country skiing at the REI in Fort Collins. Gerry Cashman and Mark Sickles led the programs and opened my eyes to a whole new world of equipment for these activities. I was amazed at how high tech everything has become. When you live and play in the Rocky Mountains, this equipment is necessary if you plan on heading out for some adventures in the winter.

The days of gliding along on flat cross country ski trails on the prairies of Illinois are long gone. I started cross country skiing on a pair of hickory wood skis that had metal coil spring bindings. The poles had oversized baskets made up of leather spoke radials. I think these skis were used for downhill skiing in the 1950’s. I can’t imagine trying to downhill ski on them, but they worked just fine for the gentle slope of our backyard. They were also good for traveling in deep snow, sort of like snowshoes.

I acquired my first real cross country skis from L.L. Bean 25 years ago. They were 210 cm long and made in Norway. The poles were 155 cm long and made in Finland. And the boots were made in a country that no longer exists, Yugoslavia. Compared to the old wooden ones, these narrow skis were as lite as a feather and cut thru the snow like butter. I can only imagine how efficient the equipment of today must be.

Gerry and Mark had all the latest and greatest gear at the clinics at REI. The gear is now tailored for the specific activity you are going to use it for. So, before you throw a pair of snowshoes or skis in the car and head out for a day of fun in the outdoors, you need to ask yourself some questions. For example, are you going to go to a golf course to cross country ski or are you heading up to Cameron Pass? Will you be skiing on man-made trails or will you be breaking your own? Will you be at a resort or in the back country? The answer to these questions will help you pinpoint what gear will be best suited for your activity.

The gear you need includes what type of clothing you will wear. 3 layers of clothing on your top half are recommended. What the layers are made of is very important. You need to stay warm, but not too warm. You don’t want to get hot and sweaty. In order to stay comfortable and dry, you need to wick the moisture away from your body. You also need to have breathable wind proof and water proof outerwear.

Since mountain weather can and does change rapidly, you also need to be prepared for the worst at all times. Carrying things like extra socks, clothes, food, duct tape, paper clips, and a space blanket are essential to peace of mind when you venture away from civilization on your adventures.

If you have never snow shoed or cross country skied and would like to try it, I recommend you rent some equipment from REI. Another option if you want to try snowshoeing would be to go to Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday January 14th between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm and try some of the hundreds of demo snowshoes that will be available for free.
Finally, I recommend you talk to the experts at REI before heading up to the hills on your next adventure. They will help you enjoy your outdoor experiences more during the winter season here in Colorado.

The Taking of the Tree

I once read a story about a cowboy that went out and cut his own Christmas tree down every December 21st on the winter solstice. It was called “The taking of the tree”. In this story, the cowboy spoke of this annual event like it was a spiritual thing. He would search for the perfect tree, cut it down around sunset, and drag it to his cabin in the woods. There he would decorate it and begin to celebrate the season of Christmas.

In some ways, we are all a little like that cowboy. We search for our perfect tree. We struggle with the logistics of getting it home, and then we kick off our Christmas season by trimming it. When I was little, my family would get a nice Scotch pine tree from the parking lot of the Catholic Church in town. We would stuff the tree in the trunk of the car in order to get it home. We would then have to cut off a chunk of the bottom with a long bladed handsaw. You had to wrestle with the tree and try and balance it on a concrete step in order to cut it. Then we would place the tree in a bucket of hot water in the garage until it was time to bring it in and decorate it.

To this day, every time I catch a whiff of a Scotch pine though, it immediately brings me back to my grade school days at Crestwood Elementary School in Northbrook, Illinois. During the holiday season, Christmas trees and wreaths were actually delivered to our school. Classroom by classroom and floor by floor, the smell wafted up through the school as the janitor distributed them. That smell was something. It smelled like Christmas.

Real trees were eventually replaced in our house by a fake tree. My mother had had enough of the left over needles from the tree getting stuck in out wool carpeting. She also was not fond of the needles clogging up the hose on the vacuum back then. So we learned to live with an artificial tree that resided in the attic for 11 months of the year. As the fake tree patiently waited to come alive each year, I would bug my mom to get the tree down so we could decorate it; especially after “A Charlie Brown Christmas” aired. The fake tree did not smell and was kind of lame, but we made do.

Heading into my high school years, the fake tree was once again replaced by a real tree. Pier pressure was the culprit this time. It seemed everyone in the neighborhood was trying to see who could get the best tree each year. It was like a contest. Scotch pine trees were a thing of the past as the Douglas fir and Frasier fir were the “it” trees of the day. They were much fuller and much more expensive. Their smell didn’t seem to last as long though as the Scotch pines.

As I got older, my homes had higher ceilings, thus the need for taller Christmas trees. The trees were in the ten foot plus range and they were heavy. Luckily, the service in the tree lots increased along with the price of the trees. At local nurseries here in Colorado, the people are usually very friendly and will come down on the price if you ask them. They will also cut a fresh slice off the bottom of the tree with a chainsaw, bag up your tree, and tie it down on your vehicle.

So as you head out this year to find your perfect tree, remember your trees of Christmas past. May they smell like the Scotch pines of my youth.